Craftsman and Wolves, a “modern” patisserie by pastry chef extraordinaire William Werner and the Outfit Generic collective, was opened in mid-2012 in the heart of the Mission. Chef Werner has more than a dozen years of experience, including serving as the pastry chef at Quince restaurant. Open 7 days a week from early breakfast hours through early evening, breakfast pastries, sandwiches, cakes, breads and savory items are available for purchase throughout the day.
The storefront can be described as minimalist chic, centered by a very prominent L-shaped pastry case displaying the beautiful products. A long communal table and some counter seating invites all guests to consume the goods onsite.
Upon walking in to the store, you are immediately tempted by all of the items in the front pastry case which includes many breakfast items such as muffins, mini-loafs, scones, gougères and croissants. It is very difficult to select a pastry or two from this tempting selection:
We were in search for breakfast items and ventured in for the express purpose of getting the legendary Rebel Within, a savory muffin that contains Boccalone breakfast sausage, chives, Asiago and Parmesan cheeses and a soft-boiled egg. We also selected a Thai scone flavored with kaffir lime leaves, coconut and mangoes:
Cutting into the Rebel Within reveals the perfectly runny yolk. This is everything you could possibly want for breakfast in one tasty package:
Splitting the Thai scone shows that it is generously studded with dried coconut and mangoes lightly flavored with ginger. The kaffir lime flavored scone itself was a perfect blend of sweet and savory:
The other pastry case containing perfect “cube” cakes continues the temptation:
Chocolate cakes also come in cylindrical forms:
Caramel chocolate salted brownies continue the geometric shape theme with a triangular form:
Afternoon service features a short menu of sandwiches, soups and salad; and the pastry cases get filled up with cookies and more cakes. Crusty breads are also available for purchase:
Chef Werner is a true craftsman in the nature of all things baking and chocolate, striving (with great success) to make familiar edible goods into something extraordinary. The ordering process can be a little confusing; it’s not really clear if you order at the pastry case or work your way down to the register. The safe thing to do is look for the line behind the pastry case and stare at all of the gorgeous items, keeping in mind that you will have to narrow down your choices when your turn comes up.
BarFlySF 
I cannot even begin to describle how amazing that muffin looks. The moment I saw it I think I died. I want to know how to make one!
quarteracrehome, The egg is a 5 minute poached egg and its been reported CaW uses a combo steamer oven to make these. Yolks start to set at around 62C/143.5F, so the trick is to make sure the muffin center doesn’t get hotter than that. We thought of trying it and perhaps freezing the egg for a little bit to slow down it’s cooking, but haven’t gotten around to it (maybe a future post?). Do let us know if you find the right technique. What’s the worst that could happen? A hard boiled egg muffin would still be great.
Must try the Rebel Within next time!!
Spotted SF – you really should. Just note that they make one batch in the morning and sell them until they’re gone for the day.
Thanks for the tip!
About the Rebel, have you tried to freeze the egg before the cooking?
I would freeze and then boil the egg 3-5 minutes then put in the muffin batter.
As I can see from the egg shape in the muffin, I may think they put the egg in the freezer with the point down, let it freeze and then peel and put it directly in the batter.
Ilaria, We haven’t tried baking it yet since it’s easy for us to walk a couple of blocks and buy one. I would not recommend freezing the partially cooked egg all the way since the texture of the egg yolk would probably change, but freezing for a little bit to cool it down prior to cooking would help to slow the cooking process. CAW has said that freezing is not part of their process, but it would be a fun experiment to figure out the magic. I do think the combo steamer/baking at low temp is part of the magic. This would definitely be a good subject for a potential post.
Quick update to everyone who has landed here to find the Rebel recipe: We have been trying some experiments (so far we are at Round 3). We have managed to make a muffin with a soft-boiled egg, but not one with a runny yolk yet. If we find the secret, we will definitely post it.